Florida woman confronts suspected porch pirate, records encounter

May 16, 2019 at 12:08 AM CDT - Updated May 16 at 3:49 PM

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. (WESH/CNN) – Police in Kissimmee, Florida, are searching for a suspected package thief.

Last week, a woman said she caught the man walking away from a neighbor’s home, carrying three packages from different addresses, but he dropped the packages and took off before police could get there.

“At that point I was just mad, and my adrenaline got the best of me,” said Maggie Mercado, the woman who confronted the man and recorded the encounter.

She said about a month and a half ago, packages started vanishing from her apartment complex, so she started paying close attention to the porches of her neighbors.

So, when she saw a package last week as she drove into the complex, she looked moments later as she was leaving.

“And when I was driving out, it was missing, and he had it,” she said. “So, I just turned around and parked the car and went after him.”

The man allegedly had packages belonging to three people – packages he set down when confronted.

"Do you live here?” Mercado asked the man. “Because I got you on videotape stealing packages, so this is being recorded and police are on their way."

Kissimmee Police took a report, and they’ve issued a crime bulletin asking for help finding the man.

"I don't think he'll come back here and do it," Mercado said.

Mercado said now that she’s had time to think about it, going after a complete stranger might have been overly risky.

Kissimmee Police said in situations like this, it’s better to call authorities rather than confronting someone.

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